After an epic collegiate season that saw him go undefeated in record-setting fashion all the way to the finish line at NCAA Championships, Habtom Samuel has been named USTFCCCA D-I Men's National Athlete of the Year, the association announced Monday.
Samuel – who finally broke through to win his first NCAA XC title after runner-up finishes in his first two seasons of collegiate competition – is now a three-time Mountain Region Athlete of the Year.
On Saturday, Samuel became the first man from New Mexico and the second Mountain West men’s runner to take home the national crown, joining BYU’s Josh Rohatinsky (30:44:90) who won in 2006. His 10K time of 28:33.9 at the national meet is also the best in conference history, surpassing his marks of 28:40.7 in 2023 and 28:38.9 in 2024.
HABTOM SAMUEL‼️
— New Mexico XC/T&F (@UNMLoboXCTF) November 22, 2025
HE'S. THAT. GUY‼️ pic.twitter.com/MwaB14ahnk
He's also the third Lobo -- man or woman -- to win an individual cross country title after Ednah Kurgat (2015) and Weini Kelati (2017).
A week prior, Samuel won the Mountain Regional championship in similarly dominant fashion, putting down a 29:45.3 time as the only man in the field to finish the race below 30 minutes. He also broke his own Mountain West Championship record en route to becoming the first man to win three MWC individual titles two weeks prior.